Christopher Knight Lopez gets 10 years in Ponzi scheme case
Christopher Knight Lopez was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison for his role in a ponzi scheme that caused more than $17 million in losses. The sentence came after he pleaded guilty on February 19 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Judge Keith Ellison also ordered three years of supervised release.
The case involved more than 40 victims, including senior citizens and people who put in retirement savings and college funds. It also reached local and international businesses, according to the facts presented at sentencing.
Lopez and Jayson Lopez
From May 2015 to January 2025, Christopher Knight Lopez and Jayson Lopez operated an investment business and used forged bank letters and fabricated account statements to mislead investors about the companies' financial health. Prosecutors said the brothers ran Knight Nguyen Investments, Knight Advisory and Planning, Aevum Holdings Inc., Exempt Management LLC, and Ping An Financial Services Pte.
The brothers also falsely claimed access to $2 billion in U.S. Treasury bonds. They told clients they could finance businesses if the clients paid large advance fees, then collected the money without issuing the loans.
Money, victims, and pleas
Lopez and Jayson Lopez misappropriated client funds for personal use and used money from later investors to pay purported returns to earlier victims. That structure spread the losses across more than 40 victims, while 13 victims described the impact at the sentencing hearing.
Jayson Lopez, 43, of Orlando, Florida, previously pleaded guilty to the same charge. Nadir Abdel Torres, 46, of Mandan, North Dakota, also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud after admitting he helped by obtaining forged letters and bank statements.
Keith Ellison sentencing
Judge Ellison said he had never encountered a more offensive white-collar crime during his tenure. John G.E. Marck and Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin R. Martin were part of the prosecution team that moved the case to sentencing.
Lopez now begins a 10-year federal prison term, followed by supervised release. For victims who tied retirement savings, college funds, and business money to the scheme, the sentence closes one chapter of the case while leaving the losses in place.
